The KOSPI is facing downward pressure in the early session on the 2nd amid a simultaneous rise in international oil prices and U.S. Treasury yields. Overnight, major technology and growth stocks sensitive to interest rates, including NVIDIA and Intel, fell sharply in the U.S., prompting Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix — the top two companies by market capitalization in the KOSPI — to also decline.
As of 9:29 a.m. on the 2nd, the KOSPI is trading at 6,682.48, down 153.32 points (2.24%) from the previous session.
Overnight in New York, renewed hostilities between the U.S. and Iran triggered a simultaneous rise in international oil prices and U.S. Treasury yields, leading to broad market declines. On the 1st (local time), the S&P 500 closed down 54.67 points (0.71%) at 7,631.47; the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite fell 271.12 points (1.03%) to close at 26,099.77; and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended trading down 419.02 points (0.79%) at 52,766.88.
Escalating geopolitical tensions from the Middle East pushed the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury bond to as high as 4.798% during the session, reaching its highest level since January of last year. Japan's 10-year government bond yield broke through 3% for the first time since 1996, while long-term interest rates in major economies including the UK and Germany also surged to multi-year or even multi-decade highs, driving a global rise in sovereign bond yields. Consequently, downward pressure mounted on key AI (artificial intelligence) and growth stocks such as NVIDIA, Intel, and AMD, which are highly sensitive to interest rate changes.
International oil prices also rose amid growing concerns over crude supply and demand. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude closed up 5.2% from the previous session at $90.22 per barrel. Brent crude also finished higher by 4.6% at $94.65 per barrel.
Kiwoom Securities researcher Han Ji-young stated, "We must monitor whether U.S.-Iran tensions ease and whether long-term market interest rates in advanced economies like the U.S. and Japan stabilize." She added, "The KOSPI is expected to open lower today due to upward pressure from rising oil prices and interest rates, as well as weakness in the KOSPI 200 overnight futures trading above a 3% decline."
On this day, foreign investors and institutional investors sold net amounts of 250.7 billion won and 209.3 billion won, respectively, in the KOSPI market (based on integration between Korea Exchange and NextTrade). Retail investors bought net 441.1 billion won. Among institutional investors, other corporations purchased 17.4 billion won worth of stocks.
Among KOSPI sectors, transportation equipment and parts fell by over 3%. Insurance, construction, electrical & electronics, machinery & equipment, manufacturing, metals, securities, and finance all declined by more than 2%. Utilities (electricity & gas), telecommunications, and chemicals dropped by over 1%. Real estate rose by more than 1%.
Among the top KOSPI companies by market capitalization, Samsung Electronics — a major KOSPI stock and leader in semiconductors — fell by over 3%, while SK Hynix declined by over 2%. Companies with equity or business ties to them, including SK Square and Samsung Life Insurance, dropped more than 5% and 3%, respectively. Samsung C&T traded nearly flat. Hyundai Motor fell by over 3%, and LG Energy Solution declined by more than 2%. Among the top 10 companies by market capitalization, KB Financial Group was the only one to trade nearly flat with a slight upward trend.
The KOSDAQ is trading at 813.75, down 7.50 points (0.91%) from the previous session. Although it briefly dipped below the 800th-point mark early in the session, it quickly recovered to regain the 800th level.
In the KOSDAQ market, foreign investors and institutional investors sold net amounts of 0.1 billion won and 11.4 billion won, respectively. Retail investors bought net 9.9 billion won.
Among KOSDAQ sectors, paper and wood products fell by more than 2%. Finance, transportation equipment and parts, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, IT (information and communications) services, medical & precision instruments, manufacturing, electrical & electronics, and machinery & equipment all declined by around 1%. Textiles & apparel and entertainment & culture traded nearly flat.
Among the top KOSDAQ companies by market capitalization, EcoPro and Rino Industrial fell by more than 2%. EcoPro BM and Wonik IPS traded nearly flat, while AlteoGen, Juseong Engineering, and Simtek showed strong flat performance. IOTech was up by around 1%.
As of this morning in the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won/dollar exchange rate stood at 1,373.8 won, down 1.2 won from the previous session's closing price.
in STOCK
